All posts by h716a5.icu

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According to Football Insider, Sunderland have reportedly made an approach for Barsnley striker Kieffer Moore, as the Black Cats prepare for life without Josh Maja.

What’s the word?

Sunderland fans were gutted when news of Maja’s move to Bordeaux broke on Wednesday, as the 20 year-old will join the Ligue 1 outfit for around £3.5m, per Sky Sports.

The good news however, is that the club isn’t standing still in finding a replacement for the youngster, as Football Insider claim they have lodged a £2m bid for Moore.

The 6ft 5in target man has scored 13 times in 23 League One games this season, including a brace in a 4-2 defeat at the Stadium of Light back in November.

Would he be a good signing?

Well, Moore has scored two less league goals than Maja this season, but the powerful target man has a proven track record in League One.

As well as his 13 strikes this season, he notched the same tally in 22 appearances last year, per Transfermarkt, despite the fact that he was only in the division for six months, on loan at Rotherham.

Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…

The 26-year-old is a handful for defenders, an absolute monster in the air and, most importantly of all, he knows how to stick the ball in the back of the net.

The move should also fill fans with confidence about new owner Stewart Donald, who is once again proving he truly cares about the club’s promotion push by wasting no time replacing Maja.

So, Sunderland fans, would you be happy with Moore replacing Maja? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

Newcastle United supporters have suffered for the majority of the January window in predictable and uneventful fashion, but the conclusion of the month seems to have thrown up a handful of welcome surprises.

Shortly before Newcastle kicked off against Manchester City last night, news broke that, at long last, the club are on the brink of breaking their long-standing transfer record. After putting a first minute goal behind them, the news seemed to galvanise the club as Rafa Benitez’s diligent side managed to turn the game on its head and clinch three vital points against the reigning champions at St James’ Park.

The euphoria of a thrilling victory continued into Wednesday morning, but the supporters attention has largely been focused on the imminent arrival of Almiron, who arrived in Newcastle today to complete the record-breaking deal.

Weeks of speculation appear to be finally coming to an end in a dramatic conclusion which few would have been brave enough to predict given Mike Ashley’s transfer history, but who exactly is Almiron?

Well, avid watchers of the MLS will eulogise about the Paraguay international’s exciting all-action approach in the number ten role, but his lack of experience in European football is a notable concern.

Indeed, South American football expert Tim Vickery delivered his verdict on Almiron while speaking to Sky Sports, hinting that the speed of English football may catch him by surprise in the early stages of his career on Tyneside.

“I think he’s got a lot to bring to the Premier League, he is going to have to sharpen up his decision making in the final third, especially as he’s moving to a football which is much more intense than in the MLS and in South America.”

Making the transition to life in the Premier League is seldom a seamless endeavour and Almiron is unlikely to be an exception to the rule.

As Vickery has alluded to, the 24-year-old will need time to adapt to his new environment and it would be unjustified for supporters to expect instant fireworks from their club-record signing.

After all, the pressure that naturally arrives with that tag has been bestowed upon his shoulders due to an anomalous set of circumstances: a club of Newcastle’s stature would typically have broken their record years before Almiron’s arrival if the club were not constrained by the manacles of an atypical owner, while his price-tag remains modest in the context of an extortionate modern economic climate.

The pressure is on for the imminent arrival to succeed at Newcastle, but can Almiron rise to the challenge?

Newcastle fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Tottenham Hotspur host Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be looking to keep pace with the Premier League title race with a win. 

However, Spurs must be wary, as the Foxes showed in their recent hard-fought draw against Liverpool that they have what it takes to match the best. Every member of the Spurs team must pay due diligence to their defensive duties.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

Pochettino will be looking to his midfielders to follow runners and drop deep to support their defence throughout the match. Harry Winks, who has impressed recently in the middle of the park for Spurs, will shoulder plenty of this responsibility.

The 23-year-old will have to balance his attacking duties with being mindful of the threat being posed by the likes of James Maddison and Demarai Gray who will be looking to exploit any gaps between Spurs’ midfield and defence.

The 3-cap England international must be mature and disciplined to ensure that his side aren’t caught out as they push forwards.

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Everton star Idrissa Gueye has told L’Equipe that he still wants to move to Paris Saint-Germain after a January transfer ultimately failed to materialise.

The midfielder has revealed he’s hopeful of joining the Ligue 1 giants or another top European club in the near future.

The 29-year-old has made 97 appearances for the Merseysiders and has certainly been a good servant to the club, as their most consistent central midfielder since his move from Aston Villa two-and-a-half years ago.

But the Everton fans have been on social media offering their views on Gueye’s comments and they certainly haven’t gone down well, with many now wanting him to leave.

Indeed, one fan even claimed that the 5ft 9in ace should be put in the reserves – the Under-23s – until the end of the season following his comments to the French media.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from Everton supporters can be seen below:

Andre Green could become a key player for Aston Villa, should manager Dean Smith use him correctly and the first step towards that goal is to make him a regular starter.

Green returned from his loan spell at Portsmouth in January but missed two weeks worth of action due to a hamstring strain on his return.

He, however, made his first start again in Saturday’s defeat to West Brom at Villa Park and looked solid before he was replaced by Jonathan Kodjia with 20 minutes remaining.

The winger grabbed the headlines in the match against Sheffield United two weeks ago when he scored a stoppage-time equaliser after Villa had gone 3-0 down. Smith might find some consistency on the left-flank should he stick with Green for the remainder of the season.

The 20-year-old has shown in the past the potential he possesses and has a bright future ahead of him.

Getting more and more game-time at Villa would only do his game the world of good and under the guidance of Smith, he could develop into the prime attacker the club so drastically need.

Villa will have to do something truly special if they were to sneak into a playoff spot by the end of the season but, at the moment, Smith and the rest of his squad could start to look ahead to next season and explore the options they have.

Starting Green on a more regular basis will place a big amount of responsibility on his game and it could be exactly what he needs to excel as a bright young talent.

Villa travel to Stoke City on Saturday and Smith should consider giving Green a full 90 minutes to show his fitness and desire to attack with width against a Stoke team that has been vulnerable at the back the whole season.

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Liverpool visit Old Trafford this weekend for their clash with bitter rivals Manchester United and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping his side can burst Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s bubble. The Norwegian manager has completely turned the Red Devils’ season around since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December and a number of players are looking like new signings. Who, though, does Klopp think has improved the most?

What did he say?

Well, speaking to Sky Sports, the former Borussia Dortmund manager said:

“You never know in the beginning, that’s how it is when a new manager comes in.

 “There’s a lot of things, maybe relief for players, for a few players of course because always when a manager has to go, a few players didn’t feel as they should maybe.

“But now, after nearly three months or so, it’s outstanding. I think Ander Herrera is in the best period of his life, it’s unbelievable how he’s playing, Pogba is Pogba again.”

Sleeping on Marcus Rashford?

You would be hard pressed to find any football fan who does not agree that World Cup winner Paul Pogba has been sensational under Solskjaer, but surely few would mention Ander Herrera in the same breath.

While Herrera was excellent against Chelsea in the FA Cup 5th round clash on Monday – he scored and put in a tremendous shift in the middle of the park – the exploits of Marcus Rashford in 2019 certainly overshadow the Spaniard’s.

England international Rashford has netted five goals in his last seven Premier League appearances for the Red Devils as Solskjaer deploys the speedster in his preferred centre-forward role.

That strike-rate surely alarms Klopp, but he appears more concerned with midfield duo Pogba and Herrera, rather than the almost telepathic link the former and 21-year-old Rashford have formed in recent weeks.

There’s good news for fans of City, Liverpool, Spurs and United in the video below…

By name-dropping Pogba and Herrera, the German boss seems to indicate that he believes Sunday’s battle will be won and lost in the midfield – the return of Virgil van Dijk from suspension and the surely subsequent restoration of Fabinho in the middle of the park will therefore be of vital importance to Klopp.

Is Klopp forgetting about one of United’s most dangerous players in Rashford, though?

Chelsea may well be unable to sign players for the next two transfer windows after Fifa hit them with a transfer ban – though an appeal could help to delay proceedings somewhat.

The news comes as a massive blow to Maurizio Sarri and Roman Abramovich with the club falling way below expectations so far this season. Not being able to sign any players will hand a massive advantage to their Premier League rivals over the next two years. Luckily for the Blues, they have a huge amount of players on loan who could return to challenge for a spot in the starting eleven.

One man who could finally break into the first-team is wonderkid Mason Mount. Valued at £3.6m by Transfermarkt, the youngster is a product of the club’s youth academy but has sent out on loan to Vitesse and most recently Frank Lampard’s Derby County. Mount made an impressive start to life in the Championship and looks good enough to take his place in the Chelsea side in the near future.

The England man has found the back of the net six times as well as registering three assists for his team-mates in all competitions. Aged just 19, Mount is blessed with excellent technical ability and the vision to carve open defences. With both Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley struggling to make an impact, his arrival in the engine room could give Sarri the offensive option he has been lacking.

With the likes of Eden Hazard and Willian ahead of him, Mount could blossom into one of the league’s best playmakers. He’s not the complete package yet, but if Chelsea are to navigate the choppy seas ahead of them, the return of Mount could really help the cause.

Chelsea fans, thoughts?

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Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a move for FC Copenhagen midfielder Robert Skov, according to Sky Sports News.

Spurs are one of a number of Premier League clubs currently watching the 22-year-old, along with the likes of Wolves, West Ham and Watford.

What’s the word?

Skov, a Denmark Under-21 international, has enjoyed a remarkably prolific campaign in his native country thus far this season.

Playing as a right winger, he has scored 24 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions and has also laid on six assists.

That tally includes the winner in Copenhagen’s only Europa League victory this season, a 2-1 success over Bordeaux.

Sky Sports News report that Spurs are keen to recruit a versatile attacking player who can support Harry Kane from the flank, and have subsequently identified Skov as a potential target.

The 22-year-old, who is yet to make his senior debut for Denmark, has only been with his current club for a season, having cost them just under £1million last summer, per the aforementioned report.

A gamble

Spurs definitely need a right winger this summer but recruiting Skov would be a gamble.

Copenhagen are almost guaranteed to turn a tidy profit on the player, with Premier League clubs circling.

It would mark a significant show of faith, however, if Spurs were to secure a player from the Danish top-flight.

Vincent Janssen is perhaps the example. Having scored 32 goals and laid on seven assists in just 49 appearances for Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, the north London outfit identified him as the perfect man to offer support to Kane.

Instead, he has scored just six times for the club and is almost certain to leave in the summer.

Spurs had better tread carefully around Skov, then.

Are there any players who are better at scoring free-kicks than James Ward-Prowse in the Premier League?

The Southampton midfielder backed up his stunning set-piece effort at Old Trafford earlier on this month with an equally impressive strike against Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday.

Ward-Prowse’s goal against Spurs secured a vital three points for a Saints side who are currently sixteenth in the league standings, two points clear of Cardiff City who currently occupy the relegation places alongside Huddersfield Town and Fulham.

The 24 year-old’s form since the turn of the year has been very impressive as he has scored six goals in 10 appearances for Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side with his contribution earning crucial victories over the likes of Everton and Leicester City in January.

Ward-Prowse’s supreme level of fitness has been a major reason behind the effectiveness of Southampton’s midfield under their Austrian coach.

According to Sky Sports, no other player in the Premier League has covered more ground than the play-maker in 2019 (123.7km) with the closest challenger being Burnley’s Jack Cork with a distance covered of 122.9km.

The form of the Portsmouth-born star had led to calls for him to be part of the England squad for the national team’s fixtures upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro at the end of March.

However, Gareth Southgate decided instead to opt for the likes of Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for his midfield options leaving Ward-Prowse having to continue his wait for a second cap after being given his debut in 2017.

England’s loss could be Southampton’s gain as international fixtures can often see players pick up knocks which leaves their club sides worse off. By not being considered for selection by the Three Lions, Ward-Prowse can now focus totally on helping his side avoid relegation by preparing for the Saints’ fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on March 30th.

A victory for Hassenhuttl’s side at the Amex Stadium could see them edge ever closer to Premier League survival, preserving their top-flight status for another campaign.

What do you think Saints fans? Should Ward-Prowse have been called up for England? How big is the midfielder’s influence on your team’s recent successes? Let us know below.

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Oldham fans have taken to Twitter to react furiously after it was revealed that Paul Scholes had resigned from his position as the club’s manager.

The Manchester United legend was only appointed as the club’s new boss on the 11th February, but a number of reasons have led to him becoming unhappy at Boundary Park and consequently resigning, remarkably via WhatsApp.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Scholes oversaw just seven games as Oldham manager, winning one, but his position became untenable due to reported friction between himself and owner Abdallah Lemsagam.

The latter became Oldham owner in January 2018 and is now looking for his fifth manager already, with rumours aplenty about his constant overstepping of the line and interference in the day-to-day happenings at the club.

With the search for a new manager set to start once again, Oldham fans on Twitter are livid at their owner’s incompetence, and have let their feelings be known in no uncertain terms…